Hubert Hurkacz will be in action on Monday at the Australian Open against French wild card Arthur Cazaux. Daniil Medvedev will also take the court for round of 16 action, as he battles Nuno Borges for a spot in the quarterfinals.
(9) Hubert Hurkacz vs.(WC) Arthur Cazaux
If you have never heard of Arthur Cazaux before now, it’s because the French youngster had only played five total matches on the professional tour prior to this event. But it seems he came into the 2024 season with something to prove. He won his warmup Challenger event and justified his wild card for the Australian Open and has since defeated two seeded players in No. 8 Holger Rune and Tallon Griekspoor plus one player literally just outside seeding (No 33 Laslo Djere).
Hubert Hurkacz hasn’t been entirely convincing during this tournament so far. He was two sets to one down in the second round against Jakub Mensik and he dropped a set in the third round to talented Frenchman Ugo Humbert. The good news for the Pole is that he served well against Humbert; his success is largely dependent on the effectiveness of his serve.
It has been a good run for Cazaux, but it’s unlikely that he gets past Hurkacz.
Cheryl pick: Hurkacz in 4
Ricky pick: Cazaux in 5
(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. Nuno Borges
One of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far has been Portugal’s Nuno Borges’ win over Grigor Dimitrov, who came into the event in great form. So instead of Daniil Medvedev facing Dimitrov for a spot in the quarterfinals, the Russian will be playing the 69th-ranked Borges. For reference, Borges’ previous best result in a major was round two–which he achieved at the 2022 U.S. Open and the 2023 French Open.
Medvedev was underwhelming during the first week of play in Melbourne. He was down two sets dpwn to Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round before he clawed his way back to win in five. The world No. 5 defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, but that was as much a result of the Canadian playing poorly than anything Medvedev did.
Given Medvedev’s experience (he won the U.S. Open in 2021 and has been to four other slam finals) and Borges’ lack of best-of-five match play, it’s hard to imagine another upset for the underdog. Expect Medvedev to dominate from the baseline. This one should be fairly comfortable for him.
Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 3
Ricky pick: Medvedev in 3
WWW?
Hurkacz is playing is in great form
Hubie in 3; Med in 3.
Hurkacz in 3 is ambitious. All the others look ok.
Really love Medvedev’s on court interview! He’s such a witty guy, my fave player among the young players.
the best interviewee
He is very witty. King of sarcasm and a very good sport.
The post-match interviewer messing with the players heads after each match in a grand slam. Players are entitled to keep the momentum going without having their head messed with after each match. He did it with Hurkacz today and Fritz yesterday.
Leave the players alone.
All I want to say regarding this is that they need to be careful with what they say to avoid influencing the outcome of their next match. If you start talking to them as if they’re going to lose, that’s not good.
Or you focus on one part of their game that they did well for example chances are that they’re not going to perform that that well in their next match. You have to be sensitive to other people’s needs you can’t just be a moron.